Inducing lactation w/o BCP?

Once you are pumping you should not go on the BCP...not sure if you are asking if you should go on it or not but just wanted to clarify. I don't have personal experience with not using the BCP before pumping, but I've heard of women doing this and they produced milk. I think it's supposed to be easier after the baby is born to make milk since the baby is better than a pump inducing the let down reflex. Either way, try to stay positive and don't get down on yourself if you don't produce the milk you want...good luck :)

Thanks for the reply! No--I was trying to avoid the BCP altogether. I was just wondering if the fact that I skipped that part of the protocol is perhaps the reason I'm not seeing any results yet.

It may be the reason, but everyone's different too so you never know. I've read of some people that don't get even a drop for a while and others who are getting several drops the first time they start to pump. I'm going to put a video my lactation consultant sent me on a separate thread if you want to take a look.

As it turns out, I started doing more hand expression and have started seeing a distinct drop of clear fluid at each pumping session. Just on the left side and only literally a drop but it's progress! :)Now to get Righty to start doing something too!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but I hope you are still here! You absolutely do not need to take BCPs! Those protocols have only been in use for barely a decade, but women have been nursing adopted babies, and producing milk, for thousands of years! I am really not convinced that the BCP part is helpful, unless someone can be on them for several months, along with domperidone, and then still have a while to pump, before their babies come. It was really developed for someone who was using a surrogate, which is the ideal situation, since they know about the baby for the whole pregnancy and are nearly assured that they will get it at birth. With adoption, we don't get anywhere near the notice, nor the certainty. Even if we do hear about a baby quite a few months beforehand, we aren't anywhere near sure that we will end up getting it. The hormones in the BCPs, along with the increase in prolactin from the domperidone, are intended to cause proliferation of milk producing structures in the breast, but inhibit milk production, while you are on them. For anyone who does not have several months before they expect to get a baby, it makes much more sense to just get on domperidone and start pumping right away. (Or, if the baby is all ready there, start nursing on demand with the Lact-Aid, right away.) Most moms can pump something to freeze, in a short time, taking domperidone. Most who pump without domperidone don't see more than drops. I can only think of a couple moms who were able to pump ounces without taking domperidone, and it took a long time before they could. The domperidone increases prolactin, without the emotional effect of a baby at the breast. That is why, without it, few can pump much, but most of those will produce ounces after getting a baby suckling. I never had access to domperidone, back when I was nursing my six adopted kids, but I produced up to about 12-16 ounces of milk a day, just by nursing on demand with the Lact-Aid. Of moms who did the same thing I did, some produced less than me, and some produced more, but my experience was definitely in the average range. With my last two kids, I knew about herbs, and drank fenugreek and fennel tea. I felt like it gave me another 25% or so, and possibly made the fat content in the milk higher. I believe herbs are better for building a supply, once you get lactation started, than for getting it started.Since the internet made it possible for moms in the USA to get domperidone, in the mid 90s, the averages, in milk production, have increased. If I was going to be adopting another baby, now, I would take domperidone, in addition to everything else I did before. I hope you have the baby, now and are doing well!Darillyn

Hi Darillyn--I've read much of your wisdom online before and I appreciate your response here!Baby Girl did arrive safely on August 12 and we have been nursing with the Lact-aid ever since. I only ever managed a drop or two from each breast while I was pumping (I pumped for 6 weeks before her arrival) but she nurses on demand now and I'm not sure how much, if any, my milk supply has increased. Occasionally I'll hear her swallow, but never gulp. Based on the 20+ ounces of formula she's taking via the LA, I'd say she's 95% formula-fed.I'm continuing on the domperidone and herbs in hopes of increasing my supply but in the mean time, we're enjoy our nursing relationship, regardless of the amount of milk I make or don't make.Thanks so much for your thoughts and weighing in with your experience!

Congratulations, Annie! What did you name the little girl? How are your boys doing with having a baby sister?I am so happy for you that nursing with the Lact-Aid is going so well! It is such a wonderful thing to be able to do. I have always believed that the nururing is even more important than producing milk, for both baby and mom. A baby that stays with the mother who bore him knows who his mother is, but it takes a little while for adopted babies to figure out who is taking over the role of mom. Nurturing at the breast is only one thing, of course, but it is a particularly expedient way to assure the baby that his birth mother has left him with another mother!Of course milk is important, too but, even if she is only getting a tiny bit of milk from you, she is getting immunological benefits from that. Has she gained much weight since birth? Some babies eat quite a bit more than others. Are you still taking 80mgs a day of domperidone? I know some ladies take up to 120. I remember, back a dozen years or so, that Dr. Newman said he wasn't sure exceeding 80 helped, but I am wondering if he found out otherwise. His experience with induced lactation has multiplied many times, since then. Also, how much fenugreek are you taking? I found that it took a lot to help. I used the whole seeds, which are less expensive to buy, and stay fresh much longer than seeds that have been powdered or crushed. I made a quart of strong tea every morning, of a quart of boiled water, four heaping teaspoonfuls of fenugreek and one of fennel. I steeped it for 3-5 minutes. Any longer and it got too bitter, for me at least. I added some honey and drank a cup hot, with some milk. Then, I filled the jar the rest of the way up with water and sipped that, iced, during the day. I remember it had a cumulative effect over several days, so I didn't really see a difference the first day or two that I took it. Once I got started with it, I could miss a day or two without seeing a difference, but no longer than that.The baby's latch can make a huge difference, too. I always had trouble getting mine latched on far enough. Do you know a LC or La Leche League leader that you might be able to have evaluate your latch? Another thing that can be helpful is to pump the other side while you are nursing the baby. It isn't necessarily an accurate way to measure how much milk the baby is getting from you, but it give you the effect of double pumping and also takes advantage of the letdown from the baby. What kind of pump do you have? Everyone is a bit different there, too. The best one, for me, was a battery operated pump call Gentle Expressions. There are many pumps out there now that we didn't have when I was nursing, but I had tried three different hospital grade pumps, and those haven't changed much. But, for some reason, the Gentle Expressions still worked the best for me (not recommending that pump, just illustrating that the pump that is the best for most moms isn't necessarily the best for everyone). I didn't nurse and pump together very often, though. I had a lot of nipple problems that pumping made worse, and being sore reduced my millk production. It was also more difficult to relax and focus on the baby, but I would have liked to do it 3 or 4 times a day, if I could have.I am always long winded on this topic, because it is something I love thinking about! I hope something in is is helpful, and please keep me posted about how things go with your daughter!Darillyn

Darillyn, I always love reading what you have to say!! I'm doing a private adoption for a baby that is due in 7 weeks, and have so far not started anything. My plan is to start domperidone in about a week and a half (or as soon as I get it) and starting pumping then too. My plan is to take 20mg/4x a day and pump as often as I can 2-4 times a day. Did you say you recommend starting the fenugreek and blessed thistle only when I start breastfeeding my baby? I'm going to be supplementing with my Lact-aid, too. Does it sound like I could be successful with this plan? I didn't want to get on the birthcontrol pill, so I'm hoping I will at least get some milk in this way. Oh, and I'll be eating oatmeal daily after the baby gets here too! Is there anything else you may recommend? I'm nervous but really excited about the prospect of breastfeeding. This will be my first adoptive breastfeeding. :)

Sarah, First of all, awesome name! I'm not sure what Darillyn recommended earlier about the herbs, but I can tell you that when I was pumping this summer for our match (it ended up falling through) I started taking the herbs when I began pumping more than droplets. I noticed an increase in what I pumped when I started the herbs. I also found an herbal tea that I drank a few times a day that helped. About two or three weeks before baby was due I started setting my alarm and getting up around 1 am to get a pump session in. That helped my supply a lot too.

Sarah, it sounds like you have a good plan! It's fine to start taking the herbs any time. I think they are more useful to increase a milk supply than to get the first drops, but I think that is mostly important to say to avoid discouraging someone who is pumping and taking herbs and not seeing anything. It certainly can't hurt, at any rate. Also, it can take some time to figure out the best way to take them, so you might as well start doing that. Some do fine with capsules, others, tea, and some ladies with stomach problems do better with just washing whole seeds down like little pills (for fenugreek and fennel, at least). I wish I had known that oatmeal is good for milk supply sooner. I didn't learn that until shortly after my last child weaned, in 1997. There are probably other simple things like that, which were common knowledge for millenia, but were lost after western civilization started thinking man-made things were better than natural. I'm excited for you, with the baby boy coming soon! I have a grandson on the way, too! Darillyn